Only One
by SkyKissed
Summary: Cuddy is getting married, leaving House to consider their relationship and what it has become. Oneshot songfic.


Sky: Alright, I decided to try writing something a tad more angsty...which, by the way, goes against every fiber of my being. So here it is, my first tragic-ish story and songfic. The song is the fabulous "Only One" by Yellowcard. The words in italics are lyrics. Tell me what you guys think! Oh, and Michael is made up...and mine.

* * *

**Only One**

The invitation was elegant, eye catching and generally cheery; that was how it was supposed to be, wasn't it? Wedding's were to be cheery occasions, weren't they? Then why did he feel so miserable?

House stared at the invitation, lying untouched upon the cool, polished surface of his desk as though at any moment it would become animate and bight him. It wasn't the envelope itself that had caught and held his eye enraptured, but the graceful, elegantly tight script adorning its surface. How long had it been since he'd memorized every curve, every nuance of her writing?

It was something difficult to forget following after its mistress in that regard, perfect and ornate, eye catching, haunting. Even though its message was nothing short of terrifying to him, he could not resist staring at it or anything else her hand had created. Deftly, gently, he opened the proclamation of impending doom.

"Please join us," it read, "As Michael and Lisa join their lives in wedded bliss."

_Broken this fragile thing now_

House leaned back tiredly in his chair. It was finally here, the day when his dearly beloved foil, Lisa Cuddy, was to be married. He told himself it didn't matter, that he didn't care. The lie was becoming more and more hollow.

He couldn't remember the exact time she had stopped becoming a simple boss, a friend to him, and assumed the mantle of something far more rare and precious. Something he had never had, made all the more desirable because he hadn't been searching for it as the rest of the world seemed so bent on doing. He could have had everything they wanted.

_And I can't, I can't pick up the pieces_

But he had pushed her away, unwilling to give into a feeling so unfamiliar, unsatisfied with and unworthy of such a joyous twist of fate. What had he done to deserve such a woman?

_And I've thrown my words all around_

He had cut her, hurt her, anything to further alienate her, the one thing he cherished. Anything to kill the feeling. She had fought back at first, begging him, pleading with him, with subtle little signs to let her in. That she could save him.

_But I can't, I can't give you a reason_

But his salvation would only end in her damnation. So he let her go, kept fighting, ignoring the unspoken misery and hurt her beautiful cerulean eyes communicated every time their eyes had the misfortune to meet across the room, till she finally broke. She had come to him one night, looking furious, demanding an explanation for his behavior. He smiled; he loved it when she was angry, chest heaving as she fought back the violent, primal taint that commanded her to tear him down, eyes blazing. Cuddy was, in every sense of the word, perfect.

_  
I feel so broken up (so broken up)_

_And I give up (I give up)  
_

_I just want to tell you so you know  
_

He had loved her. He still loved her. So he told her so, that she could do so much better than an irritable old cripple. Neither had said anything after that, but the uneasy tension that was so commonplace on occasions such as this never seemed to manifest, only a sober, sullen sense of understanding. As much as Cuddy would fight to prove her point she could not deny it. He would never make her happy.

_Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you  
You are my only one  
I let go, there's just no one that gets me like you do  
You are my only, my only one  
_

And he had lost one of his dearest friends. Even before she had become something else to him, she had been his rock, the one thing he could count on for stability in his life. She had never once left him, not during his relationship with Stacy, not during the after math of his surgery, not during any fight there after or blunder afterwards. Not every.

_Made my mistakes, let you down  
And I can't, I can't hold on for too long_

Every mistake he had made, she had helped him through. Every time he staggered, she restored balance. When he fell, she picked him back up.

_Ran my whole life in the ground  
And I can't, I can't get up when you're gone_

He couldn't stand without her beside him, riding the whole thing out with just a shrug and a smile. That was had it had always been; they had both assumed that was how it would always be ever after.

So he let her go. And he told her so.

_And something's breaking up (breaking up)  
I feel like giving up (like giving up)  
I won't walk out until you know_

Cuddy was beautiful, intelligent and ambitions, a creature of celestial temperament and naive understanding at the needed times. She would have no problems finding a man to love her, to hold her.

_Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you  
You are my only one_

He wanted no one else. There was always Stacy, who would return just for the money or comfort; a thousand other pretty young things that would suffer his foul moods just for the material benefits. None of them struck him as anything more than just that: pretty faces. He could live with no one else.

So he let her go.

_I let go, there's just no one who gets me like you do  
You are my only my only one  
_

It hadn't taken her long to find the man she wanted, a handsome young gentleman who loved her. Yet, he would never love her as much as Greg did.

_Here I go so dishonestly  
Leave a note for you my only one_

So he had told Cuddy the truth. That Mike was a good man fit for her attentions, deserving of her love. The he wished her eternal happiness with him. That he was happy for her.

_And I know you can see right through me  
So let me go and you will find someone  
_

But he was miserable. She saw it, he had always been transparent to her. House could fool the rest of the world, leave them all fighting their way through his charades; she always knew the truth no matter how hard he tried to deceive her.

So he had let he go. She had found someone to love her, give her children and a happy home without having to be constantly sifting through the lies and half truths.

Here I go, scream my lungs out and try to get to you

House let out a ragged sigh, gently fingering the invitation, eyes staring out unseeingly into the empty halls of the hospital. The staff had long since left, all now in attendance at the much lauded wedding leaving the halls vacant and dark, the lights having long since shut off.

He glanced up at the clock hanging dutifully on the wall, its rhythmic ticking the only sound filling the room besides his own breathing. 7:30, the wedding was underway. Cuddy had always wanted to get married at twilight, now, along with a new life, she was getting that.

_You are my only one  
I let go, there's just no one, no one like you_

He had won. He had let go, pushed her away until she found another man and forgot about him. He had succeeded. And yet he was perfectly miserable.

_You are my only, my only one_

Of all the women he had come to admire, to love, she had been the only one able to keep him grounded; the only one he could have seen himself with. So he let her go.

Cuddy had been the only one able to understand him, that he could always trust. She was beautiful, she was perfect. She was his only one.

_My only one_

Misery was not bliss, the wash of agony was not refreshing. He had finally done it, pushed away the one person who cared. His only was long gone.

House shook his head, burying it deep in his hands. She was gone, after twenty long years he had finally lost her. She had finally left, his only one was gone.

"If you don't stop moping, I'll have to assign you more hours in the clinic," someone stated, melodic, sweetly endearing voice shaking slightly.

_My only one_

House looked up, his eyes slowly scanning the frame till it reached her face. He didn't need to look, he knew quiet well who it was. She had become far to much a part of him to be forgotten.

She just stood there in the doorway, her face a mixture of repressed pain and sullen joy. The fading light of the evening sun washing her pale features in a warm golden light, gently caressing her slender frame.

He just stared, admiring the nearly angelic beauty radiating off her in waves. Slowly, she moved toward him, hands shaking slightly as they reached out to him, her snow colored wedding dress giving her a grace so otherworldly she could have easily passed as a fey queen. Cuddy, no matter what she wore, would never be anything less than a queen.

Lightly, gently House took her far paler, delicate hand in his own, drawing into her lap.

_My only one  
_

She clung to him, arms wrapping around his neck, burying her head beneath his chin, sobbing quietly into the embrace. Neither said anything after that, a silent understanding passing between them. House drew her closer, screwing his eyes shut, fighting down the tears he would never let come. As much as he had fought, he could not deny it, nor did he need to say it, it just passed between them wordlessly.

_You are my only one, Cuddy. _

She let out a muffled sob, clutching him tighter. Twilight faded into darkness yet neither made any attempt to move. He had let he go once.

It would never happen again.

_You are my only, my only one _


End file.
